Six Togo soccer players killed in bus crash, 28 seriously injured

Six Togo soccer players have been killed, and 28 people seriously injured, after a bus crash near the city of Atakpame. The bus was carrying players from the Etoile Filante club when it plunged into a ravine and caught fire.

Eyewitness reports claim that a tyre possibly burst, for unknown reasons, causing the bus to flip over several times as it toppled into and down the ravine. Some of the fatalities were due to burn injuries, as are some of the injuries of the critically hurt players.

The Togo soccer team has been particularly unlucky in recent years. In 2010, two officials died and several players were injured in a gun attack as the team headed to the African Cup of Nations tournament in Angola. In 2007, 22 soccer fans and officials – including sports minister Richard Attipoe – died in a helicopter crash.